Re: [3.5] The Emerald Legion-Mass Producing Ikea Tarrasques

Originally Posted by D Knight

if i am correct there is a armor enchantment that negats polymorph unless you want it to. it may be in the MIC but i will check.

I checked Crystal Keep's weap/armor enhancement list. There is an enchantment called Proof against Transmutation, which does indeed protect against polymorph/petrify, but its a +5 enhancement equivalent. Plus the fact the armor has to be +1 to start with puts its cost into epic territory.

Originally Posted by Belial_the_Leveler

Curse Weapon is also a spell that makes damage dealt by a weapon unhealable until a dispel magic is used. It allows no SR for the victim. It is unclear wether regeneration would turn that damage to nonlethal but in any case it will not heal. Your trolls, ofcourse, are immune to nonlethal so this is a moot point-but see below.

I would reason that since Curse Weapon does not state that it overcomes regeneration, it doesn't. So the damage is still non-lethal and the trolls would shrug it off.

Originally Posted by Belial_the_Leveler

The main problem with your tactic is the 4th step. Grafts require XP so mass-creating them may cause problems.

A fair point. I was thinking of making one of the Mind flayer cabal members be one of those master artisan artificers who can crank out stuff without XP cost.

Originally Posted by Belial_the_Leveler

In addition, somebody strong enough (say, a wizard dragon-polymorphed into a wartroll or pit fiend) could tear the grafts out or sunder them.

I should look up the rules for sundering/tearing out grafts. Unfortunately they don't seem to be in the SRD. Anyone knows where they are found?

Originally Posted by Belial_the_Leveler

Finally, the average troll has a will base save of +3. Even with the best resistance gear, that's a will save of +12. You still have a higher than 5% chance of ruining the offspring.

Actually, Crystalline Trolls start with a base will save of +4. So the best gear will push it to +13. They will make their save on a 2 vs DC 15. The attrition rate *should* be 5%.

Originally Posted by Belial_the_Leveler

A secondary problem lies with step 1. The only spell that makes mindless undead fertile is spark of life-but they stop being undead for the duration and the duration is too short anyway.

That depends on how long it needs to remain "alive". If its just long enough for the act of breeding to be complete, and the foetus can gestate normally when the mother returns to undead form, then round/level is long enough if the male dragon prepares himself appropriately.

If however, it needs to remain alive until the child is born, then you have a problem. We would probably have to enchant items that confer spark of life as permanent effect while worn (once again, a master artisan artificer would be most useful).

Edit: Actually, in view of all this, the best defence might be an antimagic field. It would block Gray Mantle, Cursed Items, and all the other death and polymorph effects (including wizards shape change), and you could drop the stained glass golem template. Anyone know how to (chepaly) add antimagic field to a Emerald Gheden Voidmind Crystalline Troll?